Country Gal by Vanita Blundell May 20, 2008

Memorial weekend is upon us. Memorial Day is a holiday when we remember those gone on before us. Each year we have more flowers to take to the cemetery. Our soldiers have a special mark by their graves. I think that it is good that we remember those who have given the ultimate sacrifice so we may remain free. Regardless of your stand on war - we still honor those who have served by giving their lives. I have a good friend,Jerry Ferrin, who is very interested in those who have served in battle. He sent me an e-mail telling me of a new way to identify the remains of our soldiers. There is an agency that will help out families get some closure on a loved one who never returned from the war. Since DNA has become an efficient wayof detection, it has made identification much easier. There is an agencythat has devoted its resources to finding and identifying those who havelost their lives in War.This is what Jerry had written. "JPAC is a government agency (Joint Prisoners of War, Missing in ActionAccounting Command) located in Hawaii which is responsible for identifyingWW2, Korean War and Vietnam MIA remains. There are 32 known casualties of World War II from Comanche County, Kansas,and information can be found on them at the following web page:http://tinyurl.com/6raj4m Those whose bodies were not recovered for burialat a national cemetery or returned for burial in the USA were:Lt. H.R. Burnett, USNR; Pvt. William H. Finney, Coast Artillery Corps; MMMate 2nd Class John Jenkins, USN; S.Sgt. Ira Leighton Metzger, USAAF; CPOAlfred Glenn Seidel, USN; Corporal Elwin Edward Smith, USMC; Lt. Ralph J.Sooter, USAAF; 1st Lt. Hobert H. Thompson, USAAF; T.Sgt. Leo Curtis Thrall,USAAF: Sgt. Ernest Trummel, USAAF; Ben Vonachen, USAAF; 1st Lt. Donald G.White, USAAF; Lt. Donald E. Wright, USAAF; Watertender 1st Class Squire B.Zane, USN.JPAC is seeking DNA samples from relatives of service men who are missingor lost in action to keep on file for possible use in identifying thosewhose bodies have not yet been identified. More information on this simple,painless DNA donation is on the JPAC web site at http://tinyurl.com/594z6e- it involves only a simple swab inside the cheek with a cotton-tipped swab."Some may think that we spend too much time and money on the dead; but Ithink that if someone can help others to get some peace of mind and gettheir loved ones home where they belong, my heart is with them.